Tuesday, May 1, 2001

Men’s Lacrosse Jumps To #1

Ranking Means #1 Seed In St. Louis

Ann Arbor, Mich.-- The University of Michigan men’s lacrosse team (16-1, 8-0 CCLA), fresh off a third straight CCLA title last weekend, got a little help from Brigham Young when they knocked off previous #1 Colorado State in overtime in the RMILL final.  CSU’s loss opened the door for the Wolverines, who garnered 13 of the 22 first place votes in the final USLIA regular season poll this week to move up to the top spot for the first time in team history.

         The timing could not have been better, as the seedings for next week’s USLIA National Championship Tournament at the Anheuser-Busch Sports Centre in St. Louis, Missouri were released immediately after the poll, and the Wolverines learned they are going as the #1 seed.  Brigham Young, who Michigan defeated 10-5 earlier this season, is #2, Colorado State, who provided the only blemish on Michigan’s record this year, is #3, and Sonoma State, who Michigan beat 17-7 when they were ranked #1 in March, is #4.

Michigan’s first round opponent is #16 Minnesota-Duluth, Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. CST.  The 13-1 Bulldogs defeated Iowa State 13-4 Sunday in the UMLL Championship to earn that conference’s automatic bid to the dance.  Michigan and Minnesota-Duluth have never met, although last year the Wolverines opened the USLIA Tournament with a first round match-up against UMLL champion Minnesota State.  Michigan won that game 21-5.

The Wolverines have not advanced past the USLIA quarterfinals in their two previous tries in 1999 and 2000, losing by one goal both years to the eventual runners-up.  Head coach John Paul says past history doesn’t matter now, though, “We’ve been improving each year, and we’ve tested ourselves with a real quality schedule this year.  If we can refocus now that finals are over, and get healthy this week, we’ll be in the hunt next week.”

Michigan has played 6 of the 16 tournament teams this season, including seeds 2-4.

         The USLIA Championship Tournament is May 8-12 at the Anheuser-Busch Sports Centre in St. Louis, Missouri.  The championship game is Sunday, May 12 at 2:30 p.m CST.

         For up to the minute scores and statistics in real-time, log onto www.360lacrosse.com or www.uslia.com.